Applied Protein Sciences Acquired by IndUS Pharmaceuticals

Applied Protein Sciences (APS), a privately held biotech company founded in 2007 in Mountain View, CA, announces that it has been acquired by IndUS Pharmaceuticals (IndUS), a privately held Boston based pharmaceutical company.

The acquisition gives IndUS the ability to extend its pipeline to include preclinical stage molecules for the treatment of Oral Mucositis, a severe unmet medical need for cancer patients. APS has shown significant efficacy in the prevention and treatment of oral mucositis (OM) in several animal models. Specifically, APS demonstrated a 45% reduction in the number of cases of severe and moderate mucositis, which translates to significantly lower hospitalization rates. The preclinical candidates also have potential for the treatment of unmet medical needs such as GI mucositis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and proctitis. APS drug molecules, their use and synthesis is protected by an extensive patent portfolio, including currently 6 issued US patents.

Aman Johar, co-founder of APS said, “APS preclinical candidates have shown the potential to make cancer treatments more effective and IndUS is the right partner to take the drug candidates through the development cycle.” Funding for the pre-clinical studies was provided by Innovation Management Sciences (IMSciences), a private investment firm that specializes in technology companies with strong intellectual property portfolios. Pravin Chaturvedi, CEO of IndUS said “the addition of these molecules provides IndUS with an exciting opportunity to develop and commercialize novel oral mucositis treatments to address acute unmet medical needs in cancer radiation and/or chemotherapy.”

IndUS and its Indian affiliate Sindu Research Laboratories Private Limited, a drug discovery company, are developing several novel pyrrolobenzodiazepine dimers (PBDs) for the treatment of various hematologic and solid cancers. IndUS also has exclusive access to evaluate and license new chemical entities (NCEs) discovered in premier research institutes in India for use in the treatment of cancer, diabetes and infectious diseases.